


Swords

by Causa



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 04:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7998454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Causa/pseuds/Causa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl stepped into the line of sight of the large gem. </p>
<p>"Oh—my stars. Are you lost? You look like you belong to a <i>diamond</i>." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>How Bismuth joined the Crystal Gems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swords

"Pearl, while Garnet and I inspect the strawberry field, will you check out the progress on the spires?" 

She wanted to go with Rose, but the latter had said that Garnet needed practice and it would be a waste of Pearl's time for all 3 of them to go there, so Pearl assented. 

She could have warped to a location half a mile away from the spires, but she enjoyed sprinting through the flower-filled fields, blooms tickling her toes, sun warming her skin. She slowed when the dark, large masses began to take shape; she breathed deeply, flexing her fingers. There were more of them than when she had last come here. 

Pearl moved quietly, speedily, darting between waiting pieces of rubble, crouching behind a large chunk of rock when she heard a booming exclamation. Pearl stuck her head out; not far from her stood a tall, wide woman with brightly-colored hair and dark eyes, curves covered by a diamond-shaped apron. Her gem looked lovely in Earth's light, its spiraling colors glistening. 

Pearl felt her breathing becoming shallow, felt her muscles tense. Rose had been so happy when Pearl began sparring with Garnet—surely she'd be supportive of this. Her smile, beautiful and bright, seemed to appear whenever Pearl did almost anything. Just a few hours and she would see it again: the smile of the woman to whom she had sworn herself.

Pearl stepped into the line of sight of the large gem. 

"Oh—my stars. Are you lost? You look like you belong to a _diamond_." 

Pearl felt her face flush, her voice shaking. "I don't belong to anybody," she said loudly, Rose's lips in her mind's eye. "I come as a messenger of Rose Quartz of the rebellion. She requests—" 

" _Rose_ Quartz?" the bismuth repeated. 

"Yes, Rose Quartz, the leader of the Crystal Gems." 

"Crystal Gems?" she repeated, laughing. "And what are you? Second-in-command?" 

"As a matter of fact," said Pearl, "I am. And I'm here on behalf of Rose Quartz—she requests you stop all spire construction on Earth, or else she'll have to respond with force." 

The bismuth put her hands up and motioned upward. "Nothing I can do about that."

"Yes there is," Pearl said. "You don't have to do what they tell you." 

"So—I leave them and I do what your Rose Quartz tells me instead?" 

"You don't have to," said Pearl. "You can do anything you want. But you'll want to join her—she wants what's best for all of us. She's amazing." 

"You're a regular old pearl after all," the bismuth said, chuckling and waving her hand; it took on the shape of a hammer. "You'll have to excuse me. I need to get back to work." 

Pearl felt herself shaking. "Excuse me! We're not finished here." 

"I think we are, little pearl," the bismuth said, turning her back to her. 

"So you—you're continuing work on the spires?" 

"Until my diamonds tell me to stop." 

"Very well then," Pearl said shakily. She sighed and drew her sword; the bismuth turned.

"Woah—who taught you to do that?" 

"I taught myself." 

The bismuth laughed. "No! Really?" 

Pearl brandished her sword, knees bent. The bismuth's laughter struck discordant in her ears. 

"Are you—I'm not gonna fight you. You'd shatter if I looked at you the wrong way." 

"I'm tougher than I look," Pearl said loudly, tightening her grip on the blade's handle. 

"This is all very cute, but I really need to get back to work," the bismuth said, chuckling. 

Pearl stood for some time, mind blank. When the sound of hammer striking rock entered her ears Rose and the field and the flower petals appeared before her eyes, then Rose's frown and her tears and dead grey grass and wilted brown leaves, and she felt her insides burning. She lifted her blade and struck, and the bismuth cried out. 

"That—that hurt!" 

"It did," whispered Pearl. "It did! And I'm only a pearl! Wait until Rose—"

"I'm tired of hearing about this Rose Quartz. She's giving me trouble and I've never even met her!" 

The bismuth looked at Pearl, eyes burning, and Pearl had never felt so small. 

Pearl moved swiftly left as the bismuth's hammer came down, shaking the ground around her and Pearl nearly lost her footing. Gritting her teeth, she lunged forward, thrusting her blade into the woman's chest. She laughed; slight movement of her arm was all Pearl saw before she hit the ground hard, and her muscles were already aching, and her sword was somewhere far away and she felt herself shaking, breaths shallow, vision narrowing. If she closed her eyes she would lose consciousness, would go into her gem, defenseless, and never see Rose again—she jolted upward. 

"Run on back to Rose Quartz," the bismuth said as Pearl scrambled to her feet; her eyes flicked back and forth and then she saw her blade stuck in the earth behind the woman. Pearl dove past the bismuth, sword's handle gliding into her palm. She leapt, blade raised, and slashed and spun and jumped, dodging the bismuth's slow strikes with ease. 

As time wore on Pearl grew tired and less precise but so did the bismuth, her lumbering hits growing easier to maneuver. Finally the bismuth sunk to the ground, body covered in small cuts; Pearl thrust her sword forward once more and then the bismuth was in her palm. Pearl held the gem tightly as her vision blurred and she felt her legs give out. She lay there, breaths ragged, the thump of her heartbeat hurting her chest. She rose after some time, limping to the warp pad not far from the spires. If Rose wanted to destroy those, she thought, she'd have to use Garnet. 

Rose was there when she returned and rushed to Pearl's side. 

"My Pearl! What happened?" 

"I—ah—" 

Her voice was hoarse; Rose embraced her, her skin soft and warm against Pearl's own. Pearl sighed and felt her aching muscles begin to tense, and lost consciousness, her form dissipating to smoke. 

When she came to, she saw at first Rose's lovely curls, pink and downy. Beside them were multicolored locks and Pearl rushed to her feet, nearly tripping over her toes, reflexively feeling for the handle of her blade but it wasn't there at her side. 

"Rose!" She cried, her throat raw. 

"My Pearl," the woman exclaimed, going to her and placing a hand on her back. "Everything's alright. This is Bismuth. She wants to join us." 

"Wh—what?" 

The darker gem approached them. "Between the swords and the speeches you two are real convincing." 

Pearl looked to Rose, who was smiling at Bismuth. 

"Welcome."


End file.
